Feeding and swallowing difficulties in previously hospitalised premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit: Perspectives from South African caregivers.
Cynthia Sawasawa, Lavanya Naidoo, Salma Sheik Hoosen
PMID 41405064WHAT IT FOUND
Mothers of premature infants with feeding difficulties described feeling helpless and guilty.
They reported that NICU restrictions and their inability to feed their babies orally made bonding difficult. Information gaps about their child's swallowing prognosis left them searching for answers on social media.
Key findings
01Mothers reported feeling helpless, self-blaming, and having lost their maternal identity because they could not feed their infants orally.
02Restricted physical contact in the NICU and the inability to breastfeed created barriers to caregiver-infant bonding.
03While some found feeding training helpful, others lacked information about their infant's feeding prognosis and relied on social media for answers after discharge.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was very small (9 participants) and self-selected from Facebook groups, which limits the generalisability of the findings. Participants were required to have internet access and be literate in English, potentially excluding caregivers without these resources. The study used an online survey rather than interviews, which limited the ability to probe deeper into the mothers' experiences. The socio-economic status and education level of the participants were not recorded, which may influence their experiences.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Carnegie Diversifying the Academy (CDTA) programme at the University of the Witwatersrand. The authors stated that the opinions expressed are their own and not to be attributed to the funder.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat these findings as evidence of what most caregivers experience. The study included only nine English-literate mothers recruited from social media, so it reflects the perspectives of a small, specific group rather than the general population of NICU caregivers.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →